Art Responses during Quarantine 2020

By Sinthia Cousineau

The Birdhouse Project

       Painting birdhouses is a creative activity that requires focus for long periods of time. Its main benefits are that it is an activity provides a purpose. In this case the purpose is to create a beautifully decorated home for another form of life, birds. This serves the aging population, because older adults often feel they lost their purpose due to loss of physical or cognitive ability. By painting birdhouses, it restores their feeling of purpose.
       This activity has been proven to be enjoyable to older adults, especially men who are often reluctant to take part in art. Men who often have experience in woodworking can build or modify a birdhouse. This activity when conducted with seniors would use an already made birdhouse, but it can be sanded, modified, and painted. This activity helps maintain dexterity and promote mindfulness.
       The creation of whimsical birdhouses to decorate gardens. Watching birds is therapeutic as it can allow patients a window on the world of nature. Birdwatching is popular with seniors who are often confined to there rooms and whose only connection to the outside world sometimes is the view from their windows. Through the creation of a home for birds, who mainly symbolize freedom with their ability to roam the earth and soar the skies, seniors regain a connection with the sense of freedom they once had. Birds are also a symbol of life, rebirth, peace, hope and love..

        During the 2020 pandemic, which occurred in the start of the spring. I decided that because I was trapped in my home, and due to the fact that I had lost my 2 jobs and my university classes were cancelled I would have to find a productive use for my time.
       The emotions I experienced in the early days of the pandemic are very similar to the emotions many older adults feel, especially the ones who experienced loss such as loss of cognitive or motor ability. Many seniors, who no longer work their professions due to issues related to aging, tend to experience a loss of sense of purpose. This can cause feelings of depression which greatly affects this population. I too felt suddenly useless in society.  The quarantine also caused a great deal of social isolation, as I was no longer able to see my coworkers, friends or family.. I began to reflect on how these feelings of being socially isolated are also common to the aging population, whose friends had passed away, or whose children abandon them. 
       I decided to create art work that would explore these feelings and help restore a sense of purpose to my life, and lower my sense of loss.

       I purchased some birdhouses from Micheals and Omer Desserre, the local art stores, and constructed birdhouses from wood pieces I found in an old pile of art supplies in my closet.  With acrylic paint I would decorate the birdhouses with different motifs and themes. Many of the symbols used where symbols of life, existence, and the quarantine.  For example, I used the rainbow which is a popular symbol of hope and optimism in the 2020 pandemic. It was popular for children in Montreal to decorate the windows of their homes with this symbol of hope. The concept of a “rainbow after a storm” was a behind this symbol. The phrase “Ca va bien Aller” and “Things will get better” started to surface on the windows of residents and business all over the city of Montreal. However, this phrase originated in Italy, which was one of the countries hit hardest by COVID-19.
      Another example of trying to maintain optimism and positivity in these difficult times is the use of bright colors on the birdhouses. The idea behind it is the bring more positivity to my garden, which during the pandemic of 2020 was my only connection to the outside world behond my house. I would spend countless hours gardening and watching the birds in my garden, and I wanted to contribute to it by making it more decorative, brighter and positive.  For the outside world was becoming darker due to people wearing catching convid 19, I wanted my only  santuary to become a symbol of positivity in these dark times. 
       Wooden birdhouses was first used in the open studio of Princeton House Behavioural Health partial hospitalization program in Princeton, New Jersey and was first implemented by Jill Gardener an art therapist (Buchalter, 2009).
References
Buchalter, S. I. (2009). Art therapy techniques and applications. London: Jessica Kingsley.

​https://www.seniorsmatter.com/painting-birdhouses-2/2491972
https://gardentherapy.ca/birdhouse-inspiration/
​https://www.vancourier.com/living/veterans-discover-hidden-talents-through-art-therapy-1.23024224
​https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/978027/1/McMaster_MA_F2013.pdf
​https://thereseborchard.com/2017/09/23/how-art-therapy-treats-depression/
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​Horticulture Therapy and Gardening

Visual Diary of my days in Quarantine

Painting Rocks

"Lady Bug:" by Sinthia Cousineau
A Rock I picked up whilst on a mini escape trip to Gaspésie to get away from the city
Symbol of the Lady Bug:
A symbol of good luck 

Also a symbol for: 
Good fortune
Innocence
True love
Importance of lightness
Changes, even metamorphosis
Divine intervention
Going beyond illusion
A happy resolution to a hassle
The miraculous at play in the everyday life
The importance of staying alert to avoid pitfalls
The need to know yourself well to make the right life choices

The Caterpillar Symbol

A symbol of:
  • Transformation
  • Change
  • Metamorphosis
  • Patience
  • Growth
  • Maturity
  • Development